After No. 1 Texas ended UH volleyball’s eight-game winning streak, the Cougars returned home and wrapped up nonconference play with an emphatic victory over High Point in four sets.
The first set went back-and-forth between the Cougars and Panthers as the score was tied 14 times throughout the set.
Up by two late in the set, two UH errors put High Point ahead 21-20.
UH tried to regroup and regain the lead but the deficit continued to grow. A UH attack error sealed the first set for High Point, 25-21.
UH came out fierce in set two forcing the Panthers into a timeout with graduate outside hitter Kennedy Warren hitting a service ace to give the Cougars an 8-4 lead.
High Point benefited from a UH service error a few points later to tie the set 11-11. This was as close as the Panthers would get.
The Cougars coasted through the rest of the set thanks to four High Point errors and several kills by graduate outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson and senior middle blocker Rachel Tullos. A kill by senior outside hitter Abbie Jackson sealed the deal, ending set two 25-22.
Graduate middle blocker Isabel Theut started set three off with three kills, popping the Cougars out on top at 7-4.
Down by two, the Panthers benefited from an attack error by Jackson followed by two kills to take a 12-10 lead.
With a service ace from Jackson and multiple kills from both Tullos and Theut, UH regained the lead at 19-17.
The lead was short-lived as High Point battled back to tie the set at 23-23.
A service error from High Point and a kill from junior libero Kate Georgiades pushed the Cougars ahead 25-23 to take the set and a 2-1 match lead.
The Panthers started the fourth set strong taking a quick 4-0 lead. UH matched High Point’s 4-0 run with one of its own on two kills by Theut and two service aces from Jackson to tie things up at 4-4.
This, again, set the tone for a back-and-forth set that featured 11 ties.
Up by 3, High Point forced UH into a timeout.
Two kills from Theut and several Panther errors off Georgiades’ serves and the Cougars were right back into it, taking a 17-16 lead.
Sophomore libero Bryshanna Brown came up with a big service ace that not only bumped UH into the lead but paved the way for a Cougars win.
UH went on to win the set 25-22 thanks to two blocks from redshirt-freshmen middle blocker Barakat Rahmon.
With the win, the Cougars finished up their nonconference slate at 9-2 and remain undefeated at home in 2022.